The present invention relates generally to an electric circuit unit wherein electrical circuit elements such as resistors, capacitors and semiconductor elements, as well as switches, are provided on a plate or a substrate.
An electric circuit unit for use in cameras and the like which is known in the prior art has several inherent disadvantages. The known electric circuit unit has various circuit elements and switches provided on only one surface of a plate or substrate on which an electric circuit is printed, which thereby results in the disadvantage that an increased space for the unit is required. Consequently, this prior art electric circuit unit has been generally unfit for use in a confined space such as in a camera. Furthermore, these units have a plate on which switch contacts are disposed, and a member for supporting movable contacts adapted to slide on the switch contacts of the unit is separately mounted in the body itself, for example, in a camera. Therefore, checking and adjustment of the functioning and performance of the electric circuit unit cannot be accomplished unless all of the members constituting the electric circuit unit are mounted in the body itself, which causes extreme inconvenience in quality control during manufacture of the units. In addition, in the prior art electric circuit unit, the contact portions of the switches and the slidable contacts thereof remain exposed before the unit is assembled and even after the unit has been mounted in a body such as a camera. As a consequence, during assembly or after the unit has been in service for a long period of time, for example, in a camera, dust or the like tends to accumulate and cling to the contact portions and/or slidable contacts of the switches, which may lead to a defective electrical connection.